#MAGFAB: Isabella Rossellini for Vogue Italia - October 2023!
Legendary!
#RHOA: Cynthia Bailey: I do not see a ‘Housewives’ return for myself!
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” legend Cynthia Bailey can’t picture herself rejoining the Bravo franchise anytime soon.
“I do not see a ‘Housewives’ return at this point in my life,” Bailey, 56, said during Thursday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live podcast taping at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City.
The model-turned-reality star added that she feels like she “just left” the world of “Housewives,” noting her 2021 departure from “RHOA” after 11 consecutive seasons.
“I did 11 long years. I gave you guys two marriages, two divorces,” she said, acknowledging her 2017 divorce from Peter Thomas and her divorce from second husband Mike Hill, which was settled in February.
“Like, I just don’t have anything else left to give you guys.”
Cynthia Bailey explained why she doesn’t see a “Housewives” return in her future at Page Six’s recent “Virtual Reali-Tea” live podcast taping.
The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum starred on the series for 11 consecutive seasons as a full-time peach-holder.
However, Bailey has appeared as a guest on the current season of “Atlanta” and filmed scenes for the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with bestie and business partner Sutton Stracke. (Bailey just launched a sustainable line of bedding with Sutton Brands.)
“I did enjoy being able to pop in on … ‘Atlanta’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ because I do have organic relationships with a lot of the ladies after 11 years of being a consistent peach-holder on ‘Atlanta,’” she explained
“It’s good to just be able to come home sometimes.”
Bailey departed in “RHOA” in 2021, but has made guest appearances on the season currently airing.
She has also filmed scenes for the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with pal Sutton Stracke.
Bailey emphasized that she is “really enjoying [her] acting career” at the moment despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike — the first in 43 years — that has put most scripted productions on pause.
“We are on strike right now. Please pray that’s over soon,” the “Terror Lake Drive” actress said.
“I wanted to do something else and I feel like for me, personally, I’m a woman of a certain age,” she elaborated. “There’s so much more I want to do. Like, I’ve done ‘Housewives.’ I can check it off.”
Bailey can also check off partying with Mick Jagger this summer. She and Stracke, 51 — who joined Bailey for Page Six’s live show — told us about their wild night with the rock icon at the American Ballet Theatre Gala in June.
“I did mushrooms,” Stracke said, causing the audience to erupt in loud cheers. “… I’m cool now.”
Bailey said on “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she even asked Jagger, 80, for a selfie to commemorate such an unforgettable evening with Stracke.
“Me, [a] social media whore, I’m like, ‘We got to get a picture with him,’” she joked. “So we take a picture, his eyes are closed, it’s blurry. But of course we post it because it’s Mick Jagger, right?”
#MusicNews: Raphael Saadiq Hints New Tony! Toni! Toné! Album Is Coming!
R&B trio Tony! Toni! Toné!, consisting of Raphael Saadiq, D’wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Christian Riley, have announced a return to music and teased a new album. Saadiq updated Vulture on their long-awaited fifth album.
“We definitely gonna do an album after this tour,” Saadiq told Vulture’s Brandon Caldwell. “We’re working on it as we speak, in all these rooms.”
The album’s official release date and title have not been revealed yet.
It has been 27 years since Tony! Toni! Toné! last released an album. House of Music was released Nov. 19, 1996, via Mercury Records.
The 14-track LP has been certified platinum by the RIAA for pushing over one million equivalent units. “Thinking of You” and “Let’s Get Down” supported the album at radio and on the charts.
Regarding the inspiration behind the album title, Wiggins told Billboard in October 1996, “We title all our albums at the end of the project. We sat back and listened to everything, and it reminded us of this mom-and-pop store around our way in Oakland, so we named it House of Music.”
Tony! Toni! Toné! went on a hiatus after releasing House Of Music and began working and touring separately.
During this time, a recording was made called “Diary,” which appeared on Alicia Keys’ 2003 sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song features Wiggins and Riley.
Saadiq shared with Vulture how he felt regarding them recording under the band’s name without his involvement.
“I didn’t judge Tim and D’Wayne. They had to do what they had to do. I never looked down on it. I mean, I knew it wasn’t at the level, because the three of us were still growing. We could have been doing arenas like Frankie Beverly and Maze. But ‘Diary’ was great. I loved it,” Saadiq explained.
He continued, “Clive [Davis] wanted us to get together to do it, but I was like, ‘I’m not getting together for Clive if we can’t get together ourselves.’ I wanted to do other things.”
Elsewhere in the Vulture interview, Saadiq discusses the Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion tour with Wiggins and Riley, his reluctance to be the group’s lead singer, his collaborations with different artists and more.
#HipHopNews: YNW Melly Hit With Witness Tampering Charge In Double Murder Case
Already facing a life-or-death trial for two counts of first-degree murder, YNW Melly was hit with a witness tampering charge today (Oct. 4).
According to official documents obtained by Sun Sentinal, the Florida artist was accused of attempting to deter witnesses from testifying truthfully in his ongoing case. The citation was filed one day after Miami-Dade police arrested his associate and former collaborator, YNW Bortlen, on similar charges.
Currently, the two men are embroiled in a legal showdown over the 2018 killings of Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr.
Prosecutors argued that Melly was the triggerman, opening fire from inside a Jeep after a late-night recording session. Bortlen, who was reportedly driving, was also indicted with murder and accused of staging the scene to mimic a drive-by shooting.
On Monday (Oct. 2), photos of a letter that the “Mixed Personalities” rapper penned to his father surfaced online. It read, “I wouldn’t change nothing about my life, not even the last 4.5 years I spent it [this] dark s**t hole. It made me a man. It’s finally over, [though]. I knew I wasn’t getting bond, I’d have to have a second mistrial. I ain’t tripping. I’ll be home this trial. God is working.”
The message continued, “I love you. Thanks for getting it on with my mom and making me… Tell Bri I love her and her daughter! Tell Doya I love him, and tell Makia I love her. Can’t wait to meet you all. We gon’ hang. Love, man.”
Melly’s retrial is currently slated to start on Oct. 9 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in July.
In June, Juvy’s mother, Leondra Phillips, spoke out after a clip of Melly praying and blowing kisses in court went viral.
She told WTVJ’s Heather Walker, “I walked out because I don’t… What you praying for? You sitting there like you ain’t got no remorse. Like every time I walk in, you smiling. This ain’t the time for that. This is sad. This case is serious.”
#RHOA: Cynthia Bailey: I do not see a ‘Housewives’ return for myself!
“I do not see a ‘Housewives’ return at this point in my life,” Bailey, 56, said during Thursday’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” live podcast taping at Chelsea Table & Stage in New York City.
The model-turned-reality star added that she feels like she “just left” the world of “Housewives,” noting her 2021 departure from “RHOA” after 11 consecutive seasons.
“I did 11 long years. I gave you guys two marriages, two divorces,” she said, acknowledging her 2017 divorce from Peter Thomas and her divorce from second husband Mike Hill, which was settled in February.
“Like, I just don’t have anything else left to give you guys.”
Cynthia Bailey explained why she doesn’t see a “Housewives” return in her future at Page Six’s recent “Virtual Reali-Tea” live podcast taping.
The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum starred on the series for 11 consecutive seasons as a full-time peach-holder.
However, Bailey has appeared as a guest on the current season of “Atlanta” and filmed scenes for the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with bestie and business partner Sutton Stracke. (Bailey just launched a sustainable line of bedding with Sutton Brands.)
“I did enjoy being able to pop in on … ‘Atlanta’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ because I do have organic relationships with a lot of the ladies after 11 years of being a consistent peach-holder on ‘Atlanta,’” she explained
“It’s good to just be able to come home sometimes.”
Bailey departed in “RHOA” in 2021, but has made guest appearances on the season currently airing.
She has also filmed scenes for the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with pal Sutton Stracke.
Bailey emphasized that she is “really enjoying [her] acting career” at the moment despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike — the first in 43 years — that has put most scripted productions on pause.
“We are on strike right now. Please pray that’s over soon,” the “Terror Lake Drive” actress said.
“I wanted to do something else and I feel like for me, personally, I’m a woman of a certain age,” she elaborated. “There’s so much more I want to do. Like, I’ve done ‘Housewives.’ I can check it off.”
Bailey can also check off partying with Mick Jagger this summer. She and Stracke, 51 — who joined Bailey for Page Six’s live show — told us about their wild night with the rock icon at the American Ballet Theatre Gala in June.
“I did mushrooms,” Stracke said, causing the audience to erupt in loud cheers. “… I’m cool now.”
Bailey said on “Virtual Reali-Tea” that she even asked Jagger, 80, for a selfie to commemorate such an unforgettable evening with Stracke.
“Me, [a] social media whore, I’m like, ‘We got to get a picture with him,’” she joked. “So we take a picture, his eyes are closed, it’s blurry. But of course we post it because it’s Mick Jagger, right?”
#MusicNews: Raphael Saadiq Hints New Tony! Toni! Toné! Album Is Coming!
R&B trio Tony! Toni! Toné!, consisting of Raphael Saadiq, D’wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Christian Riley, have announced a return to music and teased a new album. Saadiq updated Vulture on their long-awaited fifth album.
“We definitely gonna do an album after this tour,” Saadiq told Vulture’s Brandon Caldwell. “We’re working on it as we speak, in all these rooms.”
The album’s official release date and title have not been revealed yet.
It has been 27 years since Tony! Toni! Toné! last released an album. House of Music was released Nov. 19, 1996, via Mercury Records.
The 14-track LP has been certified platinum by the RIAA for pushing over one million equivalent units. “Thinking of You” and “Let’s Get Down” supported the album at radio and on the charts.
Regarding the inspiration behind the album title, Wiggins told Billboard in October 1996, “We title all our albums at the end of the project. We sat back and listened to everything, and it reminded us of this mom-and-pop store around our way in Oakland, so we named it House of Music.”
Tony! Toni! Toné! went on a hiatus after releasing House Of Music and began working and touring separately.
During this time, a recording was made called “Diary,” which appeared on Alicia Keys’ 2003 sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song features Wiggins and Riley.
Saadiq shared with Vulture how he felt regarding them recording under the band’s name without his involvement.
“I didn’t judge Tim and D’Wayne. They had to do what they had to do. I never looked down on it. I mean, I knew it wasn’t at the level, because the three of us were still growing. We could have been doing arenas like Frankie Beverly and Maze. But ‘Diary’ was great. I loved it,” Saadiq explained.
He continued, “Clive [Davis] wanted us to get together to do it, but I was like, ‘I’m not getting together for Clive if we can’t get together ourselves.’ I wanted to do other things.”
Elsewhere in the Vulture interview, Saadiq discusses the Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion tour with Wiggins and Riley, his reluctance to be the group’s lead singer, his collaborations with different artists and more.
#HipHopNews: YNW Melly Hit With Witness Tampering Charge In Double Murder Case
According to official documents obtained by Sun Sentinal, the Florida artist was accused of attempting to deter witnesses from testifying truthfully in his ongoing case. The citation was filed one day after Miami-Dade police arrested his associate and former collaborator, YNW Bortlen, on similar charges.
Currently, the two men are embroiled in a legal showdown over the 2018 killings of Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas Jr.
Prosecutors argued that Melly was the triggerman, opening fire from inside a Jeep after a late-night recording session. Bortlen, who was reportedly driving, was also indicted with murder and accused of staging the scene to mimic a drive-by shooting.
On Monday (Oct. 2), photos of a letter that the “Mixed Personalities” rapper penned to his father surfaced online. It read, “I wouldn’t change nothing about my life, not even the last 4.5 years I spent it [this] dark s**t hole. It made me a man. It’s finally over, [though]. I knew I wasn’t getting bond, I’d have to have a second mistrial. I ain’t tripping. I’ll be home this trial. God is working.”
The message continued, “I love you. Thanks for getting it on with my mom and making me… Tell Bri I love her and her daughter! Tell Doya I love him, and tell Makia I love her. Can’t wait to meet you all. We gon’ hang. Love, man.”
Melly’s retrial is currently slated to start on Oct. 9 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in July.
In June, Juvy’s mother, Leondra Phillips, spoke out after a clip of Melly praying and blowing kisses in court went viral.
She told WTVJ’s Heather Walker, “I walked out because I don’t… What you praying for? You sitting there like you ain’t got no remorse. Like every time I walk in, you smiling. This ain’t the time for that. This is sad. This case is serious.”
Dick Butkus,Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker, dies at 80
A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his facemask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration.
Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, died Thursday, the team announced. He was 80.
According to a statement released by the team, Butkus’ family confirmed that he died in his sleep at his home in Malibu, California.
Butkus was a first-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. He was the quintessential Monster of the Midway and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. He is still considered one of the greatest defensive players in league history.
“Dick Butkus was a fierce and passionate competitor who helped define the linebacker position as one of the NFL’s all-time greats. Dick’s intuition, toughness and athleticism made him the model linebacker whose name will forever be linked to the position and the Chicago Bears,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We also remember Dick as a long-time advocate for former players, and players at all levels of the game.”
A moment of silence honoring Butkus was held before the Bears played at the Washington Commanders on Thursday night.
Trading on his image as the toughest guy in the room, Butkus enjoyed a long second career as a sports broadcaster, an actor in movies and TV series, and a sought-after pitchman for products ranging from antifreeze to beer. Whether the script called for comedy or drama, Butkus usually resorted to playing himself, often with his gruff exterior masking a softer side.
“I wouldn’t ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately,” Butkus replied tongue-in-cheek when asked about his on-field reputation. “Unless it was, you know, important ... like a league game or something.”
Butkus was the rare pro athlete who played his entire career close to home. He was a star linebacker, fullback and kicker at Chicago Vocational High who went on to play at the University of Illinois. Born on Dec. 9, 1942 as the youngest of eight children, he grew up on the city’s South Side as a fan of the Chicago Cardinals, the Bears’ crosstown rivals.
But after being drafted in the first round in 1965 by both the Bears and Denver Broncos (at the time, a member of the now-defunct American Football League), Butkus chose to remain in Chicago and play for NFL founder and coach George Halas. The Bears also added future Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers to the roster that year with another first-round pick.
“He was Chicago’s son,” Bears chairman George McCaskey, Halas’ grandson, said in a statement. “He exuded what our great city is about and, not coincidentally, what George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership. He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself, or from his teammates.”
Butkus inherited the middle linebacker job from Bill George, a Hall of Famer credited with popularizing the position in the NFL. In 1954, George abandoned his three-point stance in the middle of the defensive line and started each play several paces removed, a vantage point that allowed him to watch plays unfold and then race to the ball.
Butkus, however, brought speed, agility and a scorched-Earth attitude to the job that his predecessors only imagined. He intercepted five passes, recovered six fumbles and was unofficially credited with forcing six more in his rookie year, topping it off with the first of eight straight Pro Bowl appearances. But his reputation as a disruptor extended well past the ability to take away the football.
Butkus would hit runners high, wrap them up and drive them to the ground like a rag doll. Playboy magazine once described him as “the meanest, angriest, toughest, dirtiest” player in the NFL and an “animal, a savage, subhuman.” Descriptions like that never sat well with Butkus. But they were also hard to argue.
Several opponents claimed Butkus poked them in the face or bit them in pileups, and he acknowledged that during warmups, “I would manufacture things to make me mad.” When the Detroit Lions unveiled an I-formation against the Bears at old Tigers Stadium, Butkus knocked every member of the “I” — the center, quarterback, fullback and halfback — out of the game.
And he didn’t always stop there. Several times Butkus crashed into ball carriers well past the sidelines. More than once he pursued them onto running tracks surrounding the field and even into the stands.
“Just to hit people wasn’t good enough,” teammate Ed O’Bradovich said. “He loved to crush people.”
Despite those efforts, the Bears lost plenty more games during his tenure than they won, going 48-74-4. Dealing with tendon problems that began in high school, Butkus suffered a serious injury to his right knee during the 1970 season and had preventive surgery before the next one. He considered a second operation after being sidelined nine games into the 1973 season.
When a surgeon asked him “how a man in your shape can play football, or why you would even want to,” Butkus announced his retirement in May 1974.
Soon after, Butkus sued the Bears for $1.6 million, contending he was provided inadequate medical care and owed the four years of salary remaining on his contract. The lawsuit was settled for $600,000, but Butkus and Halas didn’t speak for five years.
Butkus, like Sayers, never reached the postseason. The Bears won the 1963 championship and by the time they made the playoffs again in 1977, Butkus and Sayers were long gone.
The Bears climbed back to the top in the 1985 season with their lone Super Bowl championship. But they have been back to the title game only one time since. Butkus couldn’t understand why.
“There’s no reason why we can’t or shouldn’t be in the run all the time,” he said at the Bears’ 100th anniversary celebration in June 2019. “I know you’ve got those draft choices or whatever when you finish first all the time. How can you explain New England being up there all these years. That’s not right. The Bears should be the ones.”
After leaving football, Butkus became an instant celebrity. He appeared in “Brian’s Song” in 1971 and a dozen feature films over the next 15 years, as well as the sitcoms “My Two Dads” and “Hang Time.” He also returned to the Bears as a radio analyst in 1985, and replaced Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder on CBS’ “The NFL Today” pregame show in 1988.
Through the Butkus Foundation, he helped establish a program at a Southern California hospital to encourage early screenings to detect heart disease. He promoted a campaign to encourage high school athletes to train and eat well and avoid performance-enhancing drugs.
The foundation oversees the Butkus Award, established in 1985 to honor college football’s best linebacker. It was expanded in 2008 to include pros and high school players.
“Dick had a gruff manner, and maybe that kept some people from approaching him, but he actually had a soft touch,” McCaskey said.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame lowered its flags to half-staff in Butkus’ honor.
“Playing in an era when middle linebacker became one of the game’s glamour positions — and several of Dick’s contemporaries also would end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — his name most often was cited first as the epitome of what it took to excel at the highest level,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement.
Butkus is survived by his wife, Helen, and children Ricky, Matt and Nikki. Nephew Luke Butkus has coached in college and the NFL, including time with the Bears.
A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his facemask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration.
Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, died Thursday, the team announced. He was 80.
According to a statement released by the team, Butkus’ family confirmed that he died in his sleep at his home in Malibu, California.
Butkus was a first-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. He was the quintessential Monster of the Midway and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. He is still considered one of the greatest defensive players in league history.
“Dick Butkus was a fierce and passionate competitor who helped define the linebacker position as one of the NFL’s all-time greats. Dick’s intuition, toughness and athleticism made him the model linebacker whose name will forever be linked to the position and the Chicago Bears,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We also remember Dick as a long-time advocate for former players, and players at all levels of the game.”
A moment of silence honoring Butkus was held before the Bears played at the Washington Commanders on Thursday night.
Trading on his image as the toughest guy in the room, Butkus enjoyed a long second career as a sports broadcaster, an actor in movies and TV series, and a sought-after pitchman for products ranging from antifreeze to beer. Whether the script called for comedy or drama, Butkus usually resorted to playing himself, often with his gruff exterior masking a softer side.
“I wouldn’t ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately,” Butkus replied tongue-in-cheek when asked about his on-field reputation. “Unless it was, you know, important ... like a league game or something.”
Butkus was the rare pro athlete who played his entire career close to home. He was a star linebacker, fullback and kicker at Chicago Vocational High who went on to play at the University of Illinois. Born on Dec. 9, 1942 as the youngest of eight children, he grew up on the city’s South Side as a fan of the Chicago Cardinals, the Bears’ crosstown rivals.
But after being drafted in the first round in 1965 by both the Bears and Denver Broncos (at the time, a member of the now-defunct American Football League), Butkus chose to remain in Chicago and play for NFL founder and coach George Halas. The Bears also added future Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers to the roster that year with another first-round pick.
“He was Chicago’s son,” Bears chairman George McCaskey, Halas’ grandson, said in a statement. “He exuded what our great city is about and, not coincidentally, what George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership. He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself, or from his teammates.”
Butkus inherited the middle linebacker job from Bill George, a Hall of Famer credited with popularizing the position in the NFL. In 1954, George abandoned his three-point stance in the middle of the defensive line and started each play several paces removed, a vantage point that allowed him to watch plays unfold and then race to the ball.
Butkus, however, brought speed, agility and a scorched-Earth attitude to the job that his predecessors only imagined. He intercepted five passes, recovered six fumbles and was unofficially credited with forcing six more in his rookie year, topping it off with the first of eight straight Pro Bowl appearances. But his reputation as a disruptor extended well past the ability to take away the football.
Butkus would hit runners high, wrap them up and drive them to the ground like a rag doll. Playboy magazine once described him as “the meanest, angriest, toughest, dirtiest” player in the NFL and an “animal, a savage, subhuman.” Descriptions like that never sat well with Butkus. But they were also hard to argue.
Several opponents claimed Butkus poked them in the face or bit them in pileups, and he acknowledged that during warmups, “I would manufacture things to make me mad.” When the Detroit Lions unveiled an I-formation against the Bears at old Tigers Stadium, Butkus knocked every member of the “I” — the center, quarterback, fullback and halfback — out of the game.
And he didn’t always stop there. Several times Butkus crashed into ball carriers well past the sidelines. More than once he pursued them onto running tracks surrounding the field and even into the stands.
“Just to hit people wasn’t good enough,” teammate Ed O’Bradovich said. “He loved to crush people.”
Despite those efforts, the Bears lost plenty more games during his tenure than they won, going 48-74-4. Dealing with tendon problems that began in high school, Butkus suffered a serious injury to his right knee during the 1970 season and had preventive surgery before the next one. He considered a second operation after being sidelined nine games into the 1973 season.
When a surgeon asked him “how a man in your shape can play football, or why you would even want to,” Butkus announced his retirement in May 1974.
Soon after, Butkus sued the Bears for $1.6 million, contending he was provided inadequate medical care and owed the four years of salary remaining on his contract. The lawsuit was settled for $600,000, but Butkus and Halas didn’t speak for five years.
Butkus, like Sayers, never reached the postseason. The Bears won the 1963 championship and by the time they made the playoffs again in 1977, Butkus and Sayers were long gone.
The Bears climbed back to the top in the 1985 season with their lone Super Bowl championship. But they have been back to the title game only one time since. Butkus couldn’t understand why.
“There’s no reason why we can’t or shouldn’t be in the run all the time,” he said at the Bears’ 100th anniversary celebration in June 2019. “I know you’ve got those draft choices or whatever when you finish first all the time. How can you explain New England being up there all these years. That’s not right. The Bears should be the ones.”
After leaving football, Butkus became an instant celebrity. He appeared in “Brian’s Song” in 1971 and a dozen feature films over the next 15 years, as well as the sitcoms “My Two Dads” and “Hang Time.” He also returned to the Bears as a radio analyst in 1985, and replaced Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder on CBS’ “The NFL Today” pregame show in 1988.
Through the Butkus Foundation, he helped establish a program at a Southern California hospital to encourage early screenings to detect heart disease. He promoted a campaign to encourage high school athletes to train and eat well and avoid performance-enhancing drugs.
The foundation oversees the Butkus Award, established in 1985 to honor college football’s best linebacker. It was expanded in 2008 to include pros and high school players.
“Dick had a gruff manner, and maybe that kept some people from approaching him, but he actually had a soft touch,” McCaskey said.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame lowered its flags to half-staff in Butkus’ honor.
“Playing in an era when middle linebacker became one of the game’s glamour positions — and several of Dick’s contemporaries also would end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — his name most often was cited first as the epitome of what it took to excel at the highest level,” Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement.
Butkus is survived by his wife, Helen, and children Ricky, Matt and Nikki. Nephew Luke Butkus has coached in college and the NFL, including time with the Bears.
Rihanna Goes Stylish On First Public Appearance After Giving Birth To Second Child
Rihanna has enjoyed a date night in New York City with A$AP Rocky after welcoming their second child. Making her first public appearance since giving birth to son Riot Rose, the Barbadian beauty showed her post-pregnancy style in a stylish look.
On Tuesday, October 3, the Grammy winner stepped out with her rapper beau for a dinner date at the celebrity-loved restaurant Carbone in Manhattan seemingly to celebrate his 35th birthday. For the occasion, the mother of two rocked a a black tulle peplum top that looked like it had a tiny tutu with Balenciaga pantaleggings
The 35-year-old paired her ballet-core ensemble with a satin mini bomber jacket, a pearl necklace and sunglasses as she looked effortlessly cool. Her hair was styled in a messy updo as she accessorized with hoop earring and a pair of dark shades.
Rocky looked equally chic in light-wash jeans, a gray T-shirt over a button-up shirt and tie with a fall-ready brown blazer on top of them all. Not afraid to experiment with his looks, he wore white pearl clips all over his hair and carried a bubblegum pink Barbiecore Bottega Veneta bag as he had a cigarette on his lips.
Rihanna gave birth to her second child Riot Rose at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on August 1, 2023 at 7:41 A.M., according to his birth certificate. The couple reportedly chose the floral name for their second son because of Rocky's love of flowers.
However, it wasn't until in September that the proud parents broke their silence on the matter by debuting first look at their newborn son. The pair shared some new pictures from their family photo shoot which also featured their firstborn, one-year-old RZA.
For the photo shoot, the family put on casual but stylish looks. The Fenty Beauty founder showed off her cleavage in a denim jacket and navy leggings. Meanwhile, the Harlem artist rocked a white tank and silver chain with jeans, covering up with a green flannel in other snaps.
Kevin Spacey Rushed To Hospital Over Heart Attack Concerns
In a video posted on the film festival's Instagram account, Mr Spacey said that doctors had cleared him and that "everything turned out to be completely normal".
"I am, of course, grateful that it's not anything more serious. But it also made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is for all of us, and how important it is that we come together, that we support each other, that we do what we can for the next generation," the actor further said.
When he returned from the hospital, Mr Spacey assured the crowd from the stage that his health was "normal."
"It made me really take a moment and think about how fragile life is - for all of us," he said.
In July, the Oscar-winning actor was cleared of all charges in a sex offences case. Jurors at Southwark Crown Court in south London reached majority decisions on the nine counts, which included sexual assault, after more than 12 hours of deliberations
It was among the several cases against Mr Spacey amid the #MeToo movement that saw his career take a plunge after 2017. But Mr Spacey emerged legally unscathed and said he intends to return to acting full-time.
RuPaul gets emotional announcing new memoir The House of Hidden Meanings, will chronicle the first 40 years of his life
RuPaul has opened many a library, and now he's helping to fill them with a new memoir about his early life.
The Emmy-winning RuPaul's Drag Race host announced Wednesday that he's written a wide-ranging book titled The House of Hidden Meanings, which presents the global drag superstar "stripped bare" as he gets raw and real about his experiences, per a press release.
"RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography," reads a synopsis for the book, which will only focus on his first 40 years of RuPaul's life — before he co-created Drag Race. "From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history."
In an Instagram video tied to the announcement, RuPaul got emotional as he filled fans in on the process of writing the book.
"After two-and-a-half years, it's finally here. My memoir," the 62-year-old said. "I'm so excited and so anxious at the same time, because I reveal so much of myself. You know, this world today it feels so hostile and it's such a scary place to be vulnerable in, but I did it. So, get ready."
RuPaul elaborated in the video's caption that writing the book left him "gooped, gagged and, stripped raw," and admitted that he's "nervous as hell" for readers to learn new information about him contained within the memoir's pages.
In addition to chronicling his experience prior to building the global RuPaul's Drag Race empire, the book is set to chart his beginnings in San Diego, before moving to New York City, where he honed his craft as the world's foremost drag queen.
Since then, RuPaul's won 12 Emmys — the most for any Black artist in history — and appeared in over 50 films and TV shows, in addition to lending his voice to activist causes for the LGBTQIA+ community — most notably in 1995, when he became the first face of the MAC Viva Glam campaign that raised funds for AIDS research.
RuPaul's memoir The House of Hidden Meanings is scheduled to be released on March 5, 2024.
Ciara Reflects On Her 'Pivotal' Decision to End Things With Future After Joking About Co-Parenting
She opened up about the decision during a recent interview, revealing why she made the “pivotal” choice and how she felt at the time.
“It’s almost like your tastebuds change,” Ciara said about the split while on the Call Her Daddy podcast. She continued, saying, “You gotta also sometimes look in the mirror and reflect on yourself, like what are things that I could be doing differently in my life? I’m looking for a change but what does that mean?”
For the hitmaker, she said that it had been “no time to play around” as she’d just welcomed her son. “I am now responsible for another life,” she said, “so what am I doing, how am I thinking that through?”
Ultimately, she decided to pursue “joy,” adding that she was very tired at the time of the “pivotal” decision.
“When you’re tired, you’re tired and don’t nobody want to be tired all the time,” Ciara added, via ET.
Her latest comments on the split come shortly after Ciara seemingly threw some shade at her ex during another interview when she was asked about co-parenting.
Biker in viral video of Center City attack arrested, charged with aggravated assault
Philadelphia police have made an arrest after a driver was attacked by a motorcyclist over the weekend while two kids were in her vehicle.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office identified the suspect as 26-year-old Cody Heron. He was arrested overnight in the 4500 block of E. Stiles Street in the Frankford section of Philadelphia.
"His violent, lawless behavior is totally unacceptable here in the city and county of Philadelphia," said First Assistant DA Robert Listenbee during a press conference on Wednesday.
Heron's uncle says he was there when police pulled up on the block. At the home, police say they found the bike, helmet, and the 9mm gun allegedly used in the incident.
The attack happened while the suspect was with a group of ATV and dirt bike riders in the area of City Hall around 9:40 p.m. Sunday.
Authorities say Heron was seen on video using his feet to smash a mother's rear windshield while her two children were riding in the back seat.
When he was confronted by the woman who was driving the car, the suspect picked up a black handgun that had fallen from his waistband and pointed it at her.
The driver of the car is Nikki Bullock. She was with her girlfriend, their 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, delivering for Uber Eats when the incident occurred.
Bullock said she was first sideswiped by the biker near City Hall.
Video shows biker smash windshield of car with children inside near City Hall
"So I started arguing out the window. They start arguing back and forth. The other guy got my attention and in the meantime, he jumped off the bike and jumped on the car," Bullock recalled.
Video of the incident, which was captured by George Coloney from a nearby tourism bus - and went viral on social media - showed Bullock getting out of the car and approaching the rider.
She and the suspect proceeded to get into a confrontation before he took off and left the area with a group of other bikers.
Tracking down Heron was no easy task. Authorities say he was going by a different name online, which initially misled investigators.
"We don't know if he made that name up and it just happened to be people with that name and then people gravitated to people in this area with that name, or that he was intentionally doxing and or trying to take over that person's identity," said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
Police and the district attorney's office say they hope this arrest sends a message to other illegal riders in Philadelphia.
"We're going to continue to crack down on this type of behavior. It's the quality of life issues that have an impact on so many people in this city," said Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford.
Heron is facing several charges, including Possession of an Instrument of Crime, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Krayzie Bone Says He “Won the Battle This Time” After Fighting for Life in Hospital
“Just fought for life literally for 9 days straight,” the Cleveland native wrote in the caption of a photo from his hospital bed. “And I only won the battle this time because I know Jehovah God was with me every step of the way fighting for me. Never take life for granted enjoy it while… you have it! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers trust me I needed every last one of them – KB.”
After Krayzie Bone (born Anthony Henderson) checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital in late September, doctors discovered he had a bleeding artery in one of his lungs and he reportedly underwent an emergency surgery that was unsuccessful in stopping the bleeding. A few days later, he underwent a second procedure, which appears to have done the trick.
The 50-year-old artist has a rare inflammatory disease called sarcoidosis that most commonly affects the lungs and causes groups of inflamed cells to form clusters of tissue known as granuloma.
Following Krayzie Bone’s hospitalization, fellow Bone Thugs member Layzie Bone shared a statement thanking fans for their support and asking for privacy. “Our family is facing the unexpected hospitalization of Krayzie Bone with strength, and your prayers are a beacon of hope,” he wrote at the time. “Soon, we’ll share an update, but for now, let us come together and keep our love and thoughts focused on his recovery.”
Chris Tucker to Pay $3.6M In Settlement Over Back Taxes Case
Chris Tucker will pay $3.6 million to settle claims he shorted the government on taxes when he was at the peak of his fame.
The deal reached on Monday will cover unpaid federal income tax liabilities for 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010. The government sought roughly $9.68 million.
Tucker has been wrapped up in various disputes over his taxes since 2010. In 2014, he settled a $14 million bill with the Internal Revenue Service after a lien was placed on one of his properties. At the time, his reps blamed “poor accounting and business management.”
But the Rush Hour star’s financial troubles didn’t end there. The government sued in 2021 to collect back taxes on years he filed his taxes too late.
Tucker entered into discussions in 2010, 2011 and 2016 to pay the IRS back in installments ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 over a 10-year period, according to the complaint. The deals broke apart because he’d be unable to fully pay off the balance before the 10 year period in which the agency is allowed to collect taxes for a given year.
The complaint indicated that the IRS struggled to obtain payments from Tucker, who allegedly had “sufficient equity and cash to fully pay the taxes” but declined to do so. Prosecutors said reps for Tucker were “upset” because the agency repeatedly rejected installment agreements and that the actor pushed “for the IRS to keep an open mind about reaching a resolution for Mr. Tucker’s unpaid tax liabilities.”
In 2011, Tucker failed to pay an agreed-upon $2 million lump sum to settle part of his balance, the lawsuit claimed. The IRS agreed to accept partial payments after he provided verification that he was in the process of selling one of his properties in Georgia.
At various points, the IRS pushed for Tucker to liquidate his assets to pay off part of his tax liabilities, according to the complaint. In 2015, he submitted an offer to settle his balance for 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010, but it was rejected. He continued to make monthly installments of roughly $38,000 from 2017 until he defaulted in 2019.
Tucker was paid $3 million, $20 million and $25 million, respectively, to star in Rush Hour and its two sequels, THR has reported.
Zaya Wade Attends Miu Miu Runway Show For Paris Fashion Week
While taking in Miuccia Prada’s latest designs at the occasion during Paris Fashion Week, Wade stepped out in a pair of the brand’s $2,450 square-toed boots. Her biker style featured brown leather uppers with knee-high shafts, completed by darker soles with 3-inch block heels.
Zaya wore a fur jacket and sported micro braids and trendy eyelashes. She was also named one of Harper’s Bazaar magazine’s Icons for 2023.
The 16-year-old aspiring model strolled down the Miu Miu runway last year, but chose to watch front-row this season.
SZA paints a bleak Grammys picture in reflecting on 2018 losses: ‘It’s like a thirsty, dark space’
The “Kill Bill” performer opened up about her complicated relationship with the Grammy Awards, which despite nominating her in five categories in 2018 had her walking away at night’s end empty-handed. Now, she’s gone on to paint a bleak picture of the music industry’s preeminent award show.
“It’s not normal,” SZA told Rolling Stone, referring to the award show and to mingling with other artists and influential players in the music industry. “I hate that [other artists] be acting like this s— is normal and nobody talks about it at all.”
“There is so much wanting in there,” SZA continued, calling the Grammy venue “one of the weirdest rooms ever.”
“Wanting to be noticed, wanting to be, like, acknowledged, to win, wanting to just be amongst [other artists] in the room, wanting to feel valuable or validated. All of us are in there striving for something.
“‘It’s like a thirsty, dark space,” she added.
SZA also recalled the awkward and difficult task of having to perform her song “Broken Clocks” to the audience at Madison Square Garden and on live TV during the 2018 Grammys, right after losing in every category she was up for. She called the situation “weird.”
She previously said she had gotten over her Grammy losses and told Cosmopolitan in 2021, “Once you’ve been nominated and lost, you’re very much free because you’re not concerned. I passed that threshold years ago — it’s an old energy to me. Why would I be mad?”
Since then, SZA has exploded as a household name. She won her first and only Grammy in 2022, for pop duo, group performance for “Kiss Me More” alongside Doja Cat. Her latest album, the smash hit “SOS,” was lauded by critics and fans alike. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, overtaking Taylor Swift’s “Midnights,” and held the top spot for more than two months. SZA also toured off of the hit album throughout 2023, including two sold-out nights at the Kia Forum in Inglewood. This year, “SOS” is expected to garner support from Grammy voters. However, during this awards season, SZA has already generated headlines about yet another snub.
Last month, her longtime manager, Terrence “Punch” Henderson, revealed that he had pulled SZA out of talks to perform at the 2023 Video Music Awards, citing the fact that she had not been nominated for artist of the year despite her recent commercial and critical success, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nominees included Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Karol G, Nicki Minaj, Shakira and Taylor Swift, with Swift taking home the award.
Nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards will be announced Nov. 10, with the ceremony taking place Feb. 4 at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
“It means something, even though, like, this isn’t everything,” SZA said of the Grammys in the Rolling Stone piece. “But it’s kind of important that I’m here. It kind of matters.”
RaeShanda Lockhart Divorcing Wife Pastor Lashondra Lockhart Over Finances
Adored TikTok couple RaeShanda Lias-Lockhart and wife Pastor Lashondra Lockhart are in the midst of a nasty divorce that is playing out online.
The viral couple have been married since 2017. However, Rae is now spilling all the tea on TikTok after she recently filed for divorce. While she initially tried to play coy about the reasoning behind the split, it didn’t take long for the entrepreneur to reveal the truth. Among her issues with Lashondra, Rae says her wife squandered much of their funds and began going behind Rae’s back, borrowing money from friends despite them living a comfortable lifestyle on social media. Lashondra even allegedly defaulted on a loan that Rae took out for her.
According to the boutique owner, she noticed small bills, such as the wifi and cable, going unpaid from time to time. However, she said Lashondra would handle them immediately after seeing they’d been shut off. This is partially why she didn’t catch the signs that her wife was not managing their household properly. Things took a turn when the couple were evicted from their Kentucky home after Lashondra failed to pay the rent. When Rae confronted her wife about the eviction, LaShondra allegedly told her it was a mistake. Rae learned the truth after speaking with the leasing agent, only to learn they were quite behind. Even after Rae sent LaShondra the funds to catch them up and prevent eviction, her wife wrote a check that ultimately bounced, which moved the process forward. After they were told to get out, Rae was hit with another blow after she learned the sewer and water bill was over 90 days past due.
As for why she was not taking care of the bills and sending the couple into debt, LaShondra has remained mum. Instead, she has shared nothing but biblical messages on her TikTok as Rae slams her online for her many indiscretions. Others have also called her out for taking payments from tenants of the complex she managed via CashApp, which likely went directly to her bank account.
Yikes.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
I Think We Should Call PETA
Moo Woo
Moo Woo
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!
EFREM
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